Trevon Diggs has not had a very successful run on his second Cowboys contract. Due to an ACL tear sustained during an early-season workout last year, the former All-Pro cornerback had to undergo a lengthy rehabilitation process before playing this season. Diggs will probably miss more time now.
Jerry Jones stated during his most recent appearance on 105.3 The Fan (via The Athletic’s Jon Machota) that the fifth-year player has not practiced this week due to a calf tear.
Jones’ news release follows the highly compensated cover guy playing 99% of the Cowboys’ defensive snaps in Week 8, even though it looks like Diggs won’t play against the Falcons on Sunday. During training camp, Diggs returned from his ACL rehabilitation and was placed off the active/PUP list. This season, he has participated in all seven Cowboys games. Nevertheless, Jones stated (via Machota) that he is unsure if Diggs will miss the Atlanta game. However, an absence is frequently indicated by three DNPs. Diggs’ status for Friday is still unknown.
As DaRon Bland, who the Cowboys activated off IR this week, continues to feel problems in his surgically repaired foot, Jones has refused to rule out Diggs. Although Bland had advanced to full workouts following his foot fracture during camp, the 2023 All-Pro, who switched to the outside position following Diggs’ injury in September 2023, has not practiced this week. If the Cowboys hadn’t made that activation this week, Bland would have been sent to season-ending injured reserve, but he is now back on Dallas’ 53-man roster.
Prior to training camp last summer, Diggs received a five-year, $97MM deal from the Cowboys. Diggs, 26, played two games before his season was cut short by a knee injury. The former second-round choice has developed a boom-or-bust reputation at cornerback and was the first player to hit the 11-INT mark in a season since Everson Walls of the Cowboys did so in 1981. The Alabama alum is ranked 95th at the position by Pro Football Focus this season.
The Cowboys’ run at the corner in 2020 is likewise appropriately characterized as boom-or-bust. Diggs, Bland, and Jourdan Lewis—the team’s current top three—have all suffered serious injuries recently, with Lewis losing his career due to a Lisfranc injury. The Dallas one-and-done CB, Stephon Gilmore, ended up in Minnesota after the Cowboys failed to re-sign him this offseason and missed out on second-round choice Kelvin Joseph.
Micah Parsons has also not returned to practice for the Cowboys, who are 3-4 with offensive and defensive groups that are ranked outside the top 20. Due to a severe ankle sprain, the All-Pro edge rusher has missed three games. Due to his Lisfranc injury, DeMarcus Lawrence is still on IR.